Cleveland Cavaliers CEO: I can see Phoenix hosting a political convention soon
Jul 19, 2016, 7:10 AM | Updated: 10:22 pm
(Facebook Photo)
(Facebook Photo)
CLEVELAND — Picture this: Thousands of media members, delegates and political supporters pouring into downtown Phoenix to elect a political party’s next presidential nominee.
That may seem an odd mental image — especially given the extreme summer heat that’s all too familiar to Phoenicians — but it could be in the cards.
Cleveland Cavaliers CEO Len Komoroski — who was part of the effort to bring the 2016 Republican National Convention to Cleveland — said he can envision the Valley of the Sun hosting a political convention in the near future.
“I think Phoenix is in a terrific position to continue to build on its big event legacy, and why not as far as an RNC or [Democratic National Convention]?” he said during an interview Tuesday.
Phoenix submitted a bid to host either this year’s RNC or DNC, but both wound up being placed in other cities.
Komoroski said Phoenix is doing a lot of things right when it comes to hosting big events, such as last year’s Super Bowl or this year’s College Football National Playoff Championship game.
“Phoenix does attract big events,” he said. “You have some huge engines and when you look at University of Phoenix Stadium and I know there’s a lot of efforts too to try to prove you have a great convention facility that you’re improving on, so Phoenix is a destination in and of itself.”
One of the most obvious concerns when it comes to a Phoenix convention is the timing. The massive rallies are held in the summer months, when the Valley can see temperatures top 110 degrees.
Komoroski doesn’t think the heat will be a problem.
“As you know, better than anyone, it was 106 degrees [when I was in Las Vegas], but it was a dry heat,” he said. “Everybody can manage.”
As they do in Cleveland, a majority of the possible major convention events in Phoenix would likely take place at night, which would also help fight the heat.
“Phoenix really matches up well with that,” Komoroski said.
KTAR’s Jim Sharpe and Carter Nacke are in Cleveland for the Republican National Convention all week. Stay with us for ongoing coverage, both on-air and online.
